him therewith, and said unto him, The Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And [there were] liers in wait abiding in the chamber. And he brake them from off his arms like a 13 thread. And Delilah said unto Samson, Hitherto thou hast mocked me, and told me lies: tell me wherewith thou mightest be bound. And he said unto her, If thou weavest the 14 seven locks of my head with the web.* And she fastened [it] with the pin, to make it secure, and said unto him, the Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awaked out of his sleep, and went away with the pin of the beam, and with the web, easily carrying all away by the strength of his hair.

15

And she said unto him, How canst thou say, I love thee, when thine heart [is] not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength [lieth.] She perhaps threatened to cast him off, because he only pretended to love her, or else he would not have refused telling her such a secret. This was an argument which his foolish fondness could not resist; he was vexed to have his 16 affection called in question. And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, [so] that 17 his soul was vexed unto death; That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I [have been] a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any [other] man. He knew that the preservation of his hair was the condition 18 on which his strength was continued to him. And when Delilah saw, by the peculiar seriousness and affection with which he spoke to her, that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath showed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines, came up unto her, and brought money in 19 their hand, according to their promise in v. 5. And she made him sleep upon her knees, gave him some strong sleeping potion, or made him drink wine, which, as he had never tasted it before, would soon intoxicate him; and at the same time break his vow of Nazariteship: and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, by binding, thrusting, or some such like means, to try his strength, and his strength went from him. 20 And she said, the Philistines [be] upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself; being newly awoke, he did not miss his hair; and made no doubt but he could put forth his strength and destroy them at once, And he wist not that the LORD was departed from him.

The Nazarites never cut their hair, but plaited it up in seven locks. These she was to weave together, and fasten them about a weaver's beam, and at a convenient time when he was asleep, she did so.

21 But the Philistines took him, and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza, and bound him with fetters of brass; and he did grind in the prison house. They had so much conscience as to keep their promise with Delilah not to kill him, but only to afflict him; they thought thus to gratify their 22 revenge, and get a great deal of work out of him. Howbeit, the hair of his head began to grow again after he was shaven, as it did before; and it seems probable that he spent this time in repentance and prayer, and renewing his vow, and that God was entreated to renew his extraordinary strength.

23

:

Then the lords of the Philistines gathered them together for to offer a great sacrifice unto Dagon their god,* and to rejoice for they said, Our god hath delivered Samson our 24 enemy into our hand. And when the people saw him, they praised their god for they said, Our god hath delivered into our hands our enemy, and the destroyer of our country, which slew many of us. He was exposed to public view, and 25 they sang songs of triumph on the occasion. And it came to pass, when their hearts were merry, that they said, Call for Samson, that he may make us sport, that we may laugh at him, buffet him, and give him something to try his strength upon. And they called for Samson out of the prison house; and he made them sport: and they set him between the pillars.†

26

And Samson said unto the lad that held him by the hand, Suffer me that I may feel the pillars whereupon the house 27 standeth, that I may lean upon them. Now the house was full of men and women; and all the lords of the Philistines [were] there; and [there were] upon the roof about three thousand 28 men and women, that beheld while Samson made sport. And Samson called unto the LORD, and said, O Lord God, remem

ber me, I pray thee, and strengthen me I pray thee, only this once, O God, that I may be at once avenged of the Phil29 istines for my two eyes. And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars upon which the house stood, and on which it was borne up, of the one with his right hand, and of the other 30 with his left. And Samson said let me die with the Philistines; I am willing to die, so I can but thereby contribute any thing to the vindication of God's glory, and the deliverance of his people. And he bowed himself with [all his] might; and the house fell upon the lords, and upon all the people that

*This idol had the upper part like a man, and the lower like a fish. It was their Neptune, or god of the sea coast, on which they dwelt, and to which they believed they owed their wealth.

These stood in the middle of the house or temple of Dagon, where they were all assembled; the lords and nobles were below, and a great number of common people on the top. We read of some such large edifices among the ancients, that were only supported by one or two great pillars in the middle, and smaller ones round them.

As far as he was influenced by a revengeful spirit, he was undoubtedly wrong. But forgiveness of injuries was not then so well understood as it is now under the gospel. Be side, they had contemned the God of Israel, and so he was avenging his cause against their idol Dagon, in whose temple he was standing; therefore God heard his prayer, and miraculously strengthened him.

[were] therein. So the dead which he slew at his death were 31 more than [they] which he slew in his life. Then his brethren and all the house of his father came down, and took him, and brought [him] up, and buried him between Zorah and Eshtaol, in the burying place of Manoah his father. The Philistines were so weakened and dispirited, that they did not care to oppose it, and provoke the Israelites to fall upon them. And he judged Israel twenty years. Thus ends the history of this strong man. The apostle celebrates his faith in Heb. xi. 32. but some think this is no decisive proof of his real piety ; though the apostle might have sufficient evidence that he had repented of his monstrous and aggravated crimes.

1.

W

REFLECTIONS.

E may make one useful reflection from the words of this impure and treacherous woman, That they only have our love who have our hearts. Good words and wishes are cheap things, but, without the heart, all is flattery and deceit. This is true with regard to our love of God: if any profess love to him, and it is no more than external worship, or bodily exercise, it is all vain and preposterous. Love consists in the sincerity and warmth of our affection; and if we do not love God with our whole heart, how can it be said that we love him at all?

2. There are many from whom God is departed, who yet are ignorant of it; they continue rich, healthy, and merry; but God is become their enemy, and they know it not, nor consider it; never complain of their loss, but go on as if all was well, and ex. pect that things will be as at another time. This is the worst calamity that can come upon us: Woe unto them, says God, when I depart from them: so it was in Samson's case. Let us be afraid of offending God, for if he depart from us, all good goes, and we are exposed to every kind of evil and misery.

3. Let us learn of these idolatrous Philistines, to ascribe all deliverances and success to God, Though their lords' money and Delilah's treachery brought Samson into their hands, yet they ascribed it to their god. Thus will every man walk in the name of his god; may we walk in the name of, and pay our tribute of praise to, JEHOVAH, the only living and true God, the universal King! Let us especially praise him for national deliverances, and never forget his kind appearances for us.

4. We learn from the whole chapter, that there cannot be a more contemptible or miserable creature, than he who is a slave to lust, and entangled with unlawful love. This story is a comment on that remark of the apostle, when lust hath conceived it bringeth forth sin, and when sin is finished it bringeth forth death. What a contemptible character does this strongest of men exhibit, when he, who with so much ease tore the lion, slew thou

sands of the Philistines, and carried away the gates of Gaza, was entangled with one whorish woman after another! So much easier is it to perform wonders, than to govern our own passions. It is much to be wondered at, that a man of common sense should not be aware of what this treacherous woman was designing against him; that he should be such an arrant fool as to tell her his whole heart, when he might easily perceive what she intended. But whoredom takes away the heart, blinds the eyes, and makes men fools. Let those whose eyes behold strange women, and are led away by fleshly lusts, hear and fear; and learn, from the catastrophe of this great man, what a wound and dishonour whoremongers get, and that the adultress hunts for the precious life. Lo, the eyes which doted on strange women, are put out! he that was a slave to an harlot, is become so to the Philistines ! May we all maintain, not only the greatest chastity of behaviour, but the utmost purity of heart. Let those especially who are young, healthy, and gay, be sensible that they are in peculiar danger; and learn, from this story, not to boast of or confide in their strength, or their privileges as christians, or any peculiar relation to God. Let them guard against every thing that may have a tendency to stir up irregular desires; and especially avoid, as dangerous and pestilential, the company of rakes and debauchees, or bold, immodest women. It is probably in allusion to this story, as well as from his own unhappy experience, that Solomon thus cautions, Prov. vii. 24-27. Hearken unto me, O ye children, and attend to the words of my mouth. Let not thine heart decline to her ways, go not astray in her paths: for she hath cast down many wounded: yea, many strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, going down to the chambers of death.

CHAP. XVII.

The history of the acts of the judges and governors of Israel ended with the former chapter; those which follow contain an account of some memorable events which happened in their time, or rather, before it; but were not related in their place, that the writer might not interrupt the history. It is generally thought they happened between the death of the elders and the first judge, near three hundred years before Samson's time. We have in this chapter an account how Micah procured a god and a priest.

1

ND there was a man of mount Ephraim, whose name

2 Ephraim. And he said unto his mother, The eleven hundred [shekels] of silver that were taken from thee, about which thou cursedst, and spakest of also in mine ears, behold, the silver [is] with me; I took it. She must have been a rich and

notable woman to have hoarded up eleven hundred pieces of sila ver, worth one hundred and twenty five pounds of our money. The son found out the hoard, and stole it; his mother cursed, that is, imprecated ruin and destruction on the person who had taken it; the son hearing that, was affected, and confessed, for fear the curse should light upon him. And his mother said, Blessed [be thou] of the LORD, my son. Instead of reproving him for his theft, she prayed that the curse might be turned into a blessing, because he had so freely confessed his fault. And when he had restored the eleven hundred [shekels] of silver to his mother, his mother said, I had wholly dedicated the silver unto the LORD from my hand, to the service of the true God, though in an idolatrous way, for my son, to make a graven image and a molten image: now therefore I will restore it unto thee, that thou mayest cause these things to be made, as representations or remembrancers of the true God, and in honour to him, as they thought. Perhaps this woman was one who came out of Egypt, had seen idolatry there, and the golden calf, 4 and retained something of the old superstitions. Yet he restored the money unto his mother; and his mother took two hundred [shekels] of silver, and gave them to the founder, who made thereof a graven image, and a molten image: and they were in the house of Micah; the rest of the money she gave to her son to make the sacred utensils, and to adorn his chapel. And the man Micah had an house of gods, and made an ephod, that is, a garment like the high priest's, and teraphim, little images, like the household gods of the heathen, by which they consulted their deity, waiting for an answer by some omen or occurrence that happened afterward; and consecrated one of his sons, who became his priest; he filled his hands, that is, put sacrifices and offerings into it. This seems to have been the first instance of revolt to idolatry after the death of Joshua, and therefore is so particularly mentioned. In those days [there was] no king in Israel, no supreme magistrate to punish offenders, [but] every man did [that which was] right in his own eyes.

5

7

And there was a young man out of Bethlehemjudah of the family of Judah, who [was] a Levite, and he sojourned there. And the man departed out of the city from Bethlehemjudah to sojourn where he could find [a place ] and he came to mount Ephraim to the house of Micah, as he journeyed. He seems to have been a rambling fellow who, forgetting his sacred character and office, strolled about, inquiring who had any work. for a Levite? ready to hire himself to any one who would have 9 him; he came to Micah's house probably to ask alms. And Micah said unto him, Whence comest thou? And he said unto him, I [am] a Levite of Bethlehemjudah, and I go to so10 journ where I may find [a place.] And Micah, who thought his chapel would be more like the tabernacle if he had but a Le